KARACHI 24 OCTOBER 2022: The second cohort of K-Electric’s flagship Roshni Baji program completed their graduation at KE’s DNA Auditorium. This batch of 60 women from across Karachi have spearheaded the company’s efforts to create safer communities.
The Roshni Baji program was formally inaugurated in February 2021 with 40 women. Combined with the second cohort, these women have reached out to 463,304 households to date across Karachi’s densely populated neighborhoods including Lyari, Baldia, Korangi, Malir, Shah Faisal, Bin Qasim, Surjani, Orangi. A large part of these areas has a significant population of women who comprise 50% of KE’s daytime consumers, a demographic that KE was able to access only through the Roshni Baji program. Together with GuarantCo as collaborating partners, the diverse cohort of women has been able to see a meaningful impact for over a million individuals since the start of the program.
They engaged women of these localities and educated them of electrical safety practices within their homes and neighborhoods particularly during the rainy season, calculating their connected load, while inducting energy conservation processes in their living spaces.
This initiative is part of KE’s vision to partner, empower and uplift residents from low-income neighborhoods in line with NEPRA’s CSR vision of “Power with Prosperity.” The Roshni Baji program also aligns with KE’s own commitments to the United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDG-5) that seeks to achieve gender equality and women empowerment by the year 2030. The women trained under this program were also given training for self-defense, financial budgeting, maintaining KE’s networks, social media handling, communication skills as well as responding to medical emergencies with first aid and stress management.
Speaking at the ceremony, CEO Moonis Alvi highlighted, “Diversity, inclusion, and equality are cornerstones of KE’s human resources. We are pleased to induct staff and Roshni Bajis from diverse educational, social and ethnic backgrounds. The Roshni Baji Program is especially close to our heart because of the multiplier impact it is creating within communities. We believe in the sustainability as well as targeted engagement that allows growth and capacity building and driving lasting behavioral change in our society and the energy industry at large in Pakistan.”
Diversity and culture are part of the company’s philosophy in recognizing the potential of women, especially in STEM fields. For a region like Pakistan, where the overall workforce in energy utilities is at 4% and hovers around 2% for technical positions, over the past five years, KE has also employed a number of Women Grid Operating Officers (GOO) to engage in the challenging profession inside the transmission enterprise as well as female meter reading officers who go out in the field on assigned duties.
In 2021, this flagship program was awarded the prized S&P Global Energy Awards that is also seen as the “Oscar of the Energy Sector” under the Corporate Social Responsibility category. A first for Pakistan, this was in recognition of the continued and meaningful impact that the women under the Roshni Baji program have been able to bring to their working communities and society at large. Through this program, many Roshni Bajis have developed new skills, found employment in a field that is traditionally seen as a male-dominated profession and has inspired and built their personal confidence in handling everyday realities attached with the city.
About K-Electric
K-Electric (KE) is a public listed company incorporated in Pakistan in 1913 as KESC. Privatized in 2005 KE is the only vertically integrated utility in Pakistan supplying electricity within a 6500 square kilometers territory including Karachi and its adjoining areas. The majority shares (66.4%) of the company are listed in the PSX owned by KES Power, a consortium of investors including Aljomaih Power Limited of Saudi Arabia, National Industries Group (Holding), Kuwait, and the Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund (IGCF). The Government of Pakistan is also a minority shareholder (24.36%) in the company.
